Stephen Curry and the Warriors on Wednesday agreed to a four-year $44 million contract extension, a deal that will make Curry the team's fourth highest-paid player in 2013-14 and probably the league's eighth highest-salaried point guard.

The deal could be a discount for a 24-year-old who averaged 17.5 points, 5.8 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game over his first three seasons, considering the contracts signed recently by comparable players. Eric Gordon got four years at $58 million from the Hornets in the offseason, coming off a season in which he played only nine games because of a knee injury; and Denver's Ty Lawson got a four-year $48 million extension Tuesday with numbers inferior to Curry's.

"Obviously, if you look at other people in my draft class or other people with comparable stats, I might be below their pay grade, but I'm not really concerned with that," said Curry, who signed ahead of Wednesday's league deadline to reach extensions with fourth-year players. "I could potentially be underpaid. I just don't want to be that guy who is overpaid. That's my mission."

For Curry, the trade-off for possibly being underpaid is the security of knowing where he'll be playing through the 2016-17 season. The Warriors had to weigh the risk of a long-term deal with a player coming off two ankle surgeries.

Curry made it clear in September that he wanted to sign a long-term extension with Golden State when his agent, Jeff Austin, got an early start on negotiations. The talks were tabled during training camp as the Warriors' front office got a look at Curry's surgically repaired ankle and weighed the market.

General manager Bob Myers came away convinced that Curry is a cornerstone of the franchise and would command top dollar as a restricted free agent.

"I'm sure if you look at max-contract point guards around the league, (Curry) fits in with that group, but he's a guy who has had some injuries," coach Mark Jackson said. "Give the organization credit. Class organizations take care of their own, and they treated him like he's one of our own. Give him credit. He didn't chase the pie in the sky, and he could have gotten it, because he's that kind of player."

Owner Joe Lacob called Curry the face of the franchise - the kind of guy who could potentially be a player magnet. The Warriors could have the kind of money to attract a top-notch free agent to the Bay Area in 2014.

That's when they'll have $20 million come off the salary cap from Andris Biedrins and Richard Jefferson. Another $14 million will be removed if they haven't re-upped with Andrew Bogut.

"I think everybody seems to want to be here, not only our players, but, if we're told the truth, a lot of players from other teams," Lacob said. "We're building something here."

Point bank

The Warriors on Wednesday signed Stephen Curry to a four-year $44 million contract extension, which will probably make him the league's eighth highest-paid point guard at the start of the 2013-14 season. Assuming Chris Paul nets a big pay day this offseason and fellow free agents Jose Calderon, Devin Harris and Mo Williams each take pay cuts, here's a look at the top projected salaries for NBA point guards: